Range Report - 32 S&W Hand Ejector

IrvJr

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Hey All - I took my S&W Hand Ejector in 32 Long (ser # 101xxx) to the range this morning along with my Ruger Mark III target pistol. I shot both guns at 25 feet and had a blast.

For ammo, I used some Remington factory .32 S&W Long 98gr lead round nose cartridges that I bought with the gun. I plan on duplicating this load once I get the dies and bullets from the store.

For a nearly 100 year old gun, the 32 HE shot wonderfully. The double action trigger was heavy, but smooth. The sights are very thin and small, but provide a very fine sight picture against a light background. In double action mode, the gun was accurate enough for defensive and plinking purposes. In single action mode, the gun was surprisingly very accurate. After shooting a couple of cylinders in DA mode to get used to the gun, I shot a cylinder in SA mode and managed to get 5 shots in a ragged hole with the 6th shot, just up and to the right (at 25 feet). In spite of the tiny grips and the slightly pitted bore, the gun shot really well.

the 98 gr bullet shot more or less point to aim for this gun. I held a six o'clock sight picture at the little black targets at 25 feet.

Overall I'm really impressed with the quality of the gun. It's about 100 years old, yet it shoots great. also, in spite of the worn finish, the craftsmanship on this gun is outstanding. It's too bad that they don't make them like they used to!

Here are a couple of pics of the gun and target. The shots in the lower left of the paper were from when I was getting used to the trigger and grips. The shots in the upper left of the paper were the 6 shots in single action mode. the shots in the middle of the paper and in the upper right hand side of the paper are from my Ruger .22 pistol.

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I don't know if you've done it yet but a good cleaning of the lockwork can improve the trigger pull. It's not unusual to have grit and congealed oil slowing things up under the lock plate.
 
Thanks walnutred. When I get a chance, I'm going to do a proper strip down of the gun and then clean the parts more thoroughly. Hopefully that will improve the trigger action.
 
Hi,

I love the old S&W .32 revolvers, including the Model 30 and 31 . . . and the old Handejector I frames.

Here's a HE Model 1903 (5th Change) that I picked up recently. It was made in 1916 . . . and still shoots the ammo it likes well (just as most .32 revolvers!

No, it didn't "like" the wadcutters used in the top two 1" black targets, but "liked" some LRN that was shot at the two lower targets. I put a yellow sheet of paper behind the target to make the holes more visible The range was 10 yards. Note: The three vertical yellow holes on the left margin are the 3-hole notebook paper holes.

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It's a keeper! I'm sure you'll enjoy yours too. Congratulations! Tom

PS: Ask around in the "Want To Buy" area here and someone will probably have a nice set of original grips for your gun at a very fair price. This is a very helpful place . . . and boy . . . I love how the original grips look on these old Model 1903s!

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Tom - that is a beautiful looking gun! Thanks for sharing. I think I'm hooked on these 32's and on vintage S&W's.
 
Irv and Tom. Thanks for the reports. I too am a great fan of the ol' 32 HE. Always looking for more.
 
Had my RP out today comparing 90 gr swc to 98 gr lrn. The sights are dead on for the 98 gr lrn. The 90 swc loads shot about 2 inches low.

Gun was very accurate with both loads.
 

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